Guadalupe priest says good bye to Plainview

Published 3:24 am, Wednesday, September 16, 2015

After 10 years of service in Plainview, Our Lady of Guadalupe priest Raymundo Manriquez will leave his post for a new assignment in Lubbock starting this week.

After 10 years of service in Plainview, Our Lady of Guadalupe priest Raymundo Manriquez will leave his post for a new assignment in Lubbock starting this week.

Photo: Homer Marquez/Plainview Herald

Guadalupe priest says good bye to Plainview

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For more than 10 years, he has been the leader of Plainview's Our Lady of Guadalupe faithful.

But now, Father Raymundo Manriquez will say good bye to Plainview as he was recently re-assigned to make the move to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lubbock.

"I enjoyed my time in Plainview a lot," Manriquez said as he completed his final day at the Plainview Catholic Church Tuesday.

Manriquez was recently asked by Bishop Placido Rodriquez to leave his post in Plainview to join the clergy in Lubbock.

Manriquez felt bittersweet about leaving his home in Plainview, but was happy to be doing his religious duty.

"I have a mixture of feelings about going to Lubbock, but as a priest, I have taken the oath of obedience, so I was asked by Bishop Placido to go to St. Joseph and help him to establish the kingdom of God there," Manriquez said.

Manriquez was assigned to Plainview in July 2005 after serving four years at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Hale Center and St. Peter's Catholic Church in Olton. Before then, he had a one-year assignment at Christ the King Cathedral in Lubbock.

"At the beginning, it was a little difficult," said Manriquez, describing his nervousness about moving to Plainview in 2005. "As we say in Spanish, 'Pueblo chico, infierno grande, small town, big hell," he said with a laugh.

But after arriving, Manriquez said he learned the true nature of Plainview quickly.

"It still has the characteristics of a small town, and I enjoy that a lot," he said. "In terms of spiritually, this is a very Christian city, a lot of churches; catholic and other denominations. People like to go to church here. There is a deep sense of Christian followers of Christ."

Small-town characteristics were something Manriquez had to get used to after moving to West Texas. He was raised in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Growing up there, Manriquez said he was called to the ministry very early in his life.

"I was 14 years old when I entered the seminary, the place where we receive the necessary studies and information to the priesthood" said Manriquez. "It's a call. The vocation to the priesthood is a calling. So I felt that the Lord was calling me to serve him in the priesthood."

Manriquez said once he heard 1 Corinthians 9:16, 'Woe to me if I don't preach the gospel,' a fire was lit in him to become a priest. He spent the next 10 years in seminary school and focused on philosophy and theology as he got older.

In 1995, Manriquez was invited to the United States where he would work on his masters of divinity. In June 2000 he was officially ordained as a priest.

Spending his time in Houston, Manriquez eventually was moved to Lubbock.

"I love West Texas," said Manriquez. "I started to love this place. I love the lifestyle, it's good for me."

Loving the people most of all, Manriquez said he will take tons of memories with him, especially from his favorite events like the annual Jamaicas and the festivities of Holy Week.

Another memory that will stick with the priest will be the day Cargill Meat Solutions announced it would close its Plainview plant. The devastating news sent shock waves through his congregation, who rushed that evening to church to pray for guidance.